SHARE
COPY LINK

MONEY

Austrian heiress’s €25 million giveaway finalised

The group charged with giving away the bulk of Austrian-German heiress Marlene Engelhorn's multi-million-euro inheritance on Tuesday announced the dozens of organisations, projects and initiatives due to benefit.

Austrian Marlene Engelhorn, who inherited from her family who owns the Germany's chemical giant BASF, poses with a placard reading
Austrian Marlene Engelhorn, who inherited from her family who owns the Germany's chemical giant BASF, poses with a placard reading "Tax the rich!" at the entrance of the Congress center on the opening of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, on January 15, 2024. Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

The 32-year-old activist who advocates for higher taxes on the rich made headlines in January when she announced that she would be giving away €25 million ($26.8 million)—the bulk of her inheritance.

She entrusted a team to set up a citizens’ council of 50 Austrians to generate ideas on how to give away her wealth.

Members of the citizens group on Tuesday said that Engelhorn’s millions would be distributed among a total of 77 organisations that seek to improve environmental protection, education, integration, health and social issues, as well as poverty and affordable housing in Austria.

Engelhorn, who co-founded the Taxmenow initiative, is among an exclusive group of millionaires pushing for governments to tax them more to bridge the growing wealth gap amid a persistent cost-of-living crisis.

A scion of Friedrich Engelhorn, the founder of the BASF chemical giant, she inherited millions when her grandmother died in 2022.

Individual organisations will receive, over a couple of years, amounts ranging from €40,000 to the €1.6 million allotted to the Austrian society for nature conservation.

“The result is as diverse as the council itself. But what all the decisions have in common is that they want a fairer society… to support those who are discriminated against,” project manager Alexandra Wang told a news conference on Tuesday.

From March to June, 50 Austrians were paid to gather on six weekends in the city of Salzburg to develop solutions “in the interests of society as a whole”.

Four members of the council shared their experiences on Tuesday. They said they enjoyed the “democratic project” and hailed it as an “exciting challenge” to find solutions to pressing issues “as equals” and based on consensus.

The youngest participant, 17-year-old student Kyrillos Gadalla, said he had “learnt a lot” from every conversation he had with different council members, the oldest of whom was 85.

Engelhorn did not participate in Tuesday’s press conference after withdrawing from the process once the council was launched.

“A large part of my inherited wealth, which through my birth has elevated me to a position of power… has now been redistributed in accordance with democratic values,” Engelhorn said in a statement.

In January, 10,000 randomly selected Austrians aged over 16 were invited to join the citizens council designed to reflect the Alpine country’s demographic mix.

The charity Oxfam said in a report in January that the world’s billionaires are $3.3 trillion richer than they were in 2020, while nearly five billion people worldwide have grown poorer, slamming “levels of obscene inequality”.

Member comments

  1. The ‘cost of living crisis’ is caused by politicians and their irresponsible spending. They’re aided and abetted by central banks that create money out of nothing. This is encouragement for politicians and their bankers to tax further all working individuals. How does she define ‘rich’.

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

PROPERTY

Why are young people in Austria so pessimistic about homeownership?

Most young people in Austria do not believe they can afford to buy their own home with their income. Here is why.

Why are young people in Austria so pessimistic about homeownership?

Only 39 percent of young professionals think they can afford their own home with their income, according to a new GPA trade union survey

Around 1000 Austrians aged 16 to 29 participated in the survey, which shows that the expectation of being able to buy property without inheritance or help decreases with age.

Austrians aged 25 to 29 are the most pessimistic

The survey shows that as life and work experience increase, the expectation of being able to buy a home from one’s salary decreases.

Younger Austrians up to 24 years old are more likely to believe they can achieve this (44 percent) compared to Austrians between 25 and 29 years old (30 percent).

The difference becomes even more significant between those still in education (59 percent) and those who are working (33 percent).

Expectations are consistent across both low- and high-income groups.

READ MORE: How can I move into affordable cooperative housing in Vienna?

Young women least satisfied with salary

More than a third of young Austrians find that they have a salary that is too low.

In the survey, 43 percent of women expressed not being satisfied with their earnings, compared to 36 percent of men.

The survey also shows that the participants prioritise choosing educational fields where it is easy to find a job after graduation (86 percent) and where they can experience good earning prospects (84 ).

High prices, rates and strict lending criteria

One of the biggest barriers to owning a home in Austria is the sky-high property prices. Over the years, property prices have increased, making it more difficult for people with an average income to afford a place of their own. 

Another factor making owning a home challenging is the increase in interest rates in recent years. As a result, both existing variable-rate loans and newly obtained fixed-rate loans have become more expensive.

Analysts expect the European Central Bank to cut interest rates by around 0.5 percent in the near future, but according to durchblicker’s calculations, this would initially only create a little relief for loan takers, where instead of around 60 percent, 55 percent of monthly household net income would be needed for debt repayment.

Difficulties obtaining a mortgage

Another issue preventing many from realising their dream to buy a home is the difficulty obtaining a mortgage.

Since July 2022, stricter rules have applied in Austria for the granting of property loans. Loan applicants must have a deposit worth at least 20 percent of the value of their property to be granted a loan.

This means that young professionals need to work for many years and earn a high income to have a chance of being accepted.

READ ALSO: Why buying property in Austria remains unaffordable for most

SHOW COMMENTS